Davey Tree to Preserve and Dismantle Barn at New Property

Kent, Ohio – Careful work is under way to prepare The Davey Tree Expert Company’s future East Campus site for potential development.

In the months following the purchase of the property at 6700 State Route 43 in Kent, Davey Tree has been assessing and inventorying the assets on site. As part of that assessment, the company has made the decision to dismantle the old barn on site that has serious structural and liability issues.

Of primary concern are the 10- to 15-foot wide holes in the roof, which are leaking water and further damaging the structure. However, the company decided not to destroy the structure, but instead dismantle and preserve it, said Molly Senter, Davey’s property manager.

“Although we have no definitive plan for the structure, we wanted to preserve it as best we could,” said Senter. “We have hired contractors to take the barn apart piece by piece to preserve the timbers.”

The work is commencing in the next few days, she said, and will likely involve heavy equipment on-site. Senter estimated the job will take several weeks to finish.

Senter noted that the barn may be as old as the late 1800s, which parallels the company’s founding. “We liked the idea that perhaps it had been erected at its original site around the same time Davey Tree was founded, in 1880,” said Senter.

The Davey Tree Expert Company’s approximately 9,000 employees provide diversified tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental services for the residential, utility, commercial and government markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. Davey has provided Proven Solutions for a Growing World since 1880 and has been employee-owned for 38 years.